Bow tie structures



Dec. 25, 1962 R. J. CAPAROSA BOW TIE STRUCTURES Filed June 10. 1960 I. Iv I I INVENTOR. Ralph J. 'Caparosa his ATTORNEYS limited States PatentGr 3,069,689 BGW TIE STRUCTURES Ralph E. Caparosa, Pittsburgh, Pa,assignor to Redi-Kuot Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa. Filed June ill, 1960, Ser.No. 35,180 (llaims. (Cl. 2-154) This invention relates to bow tiestructures and particularly to holders for use with pretied bowneckties, and is an improvement over the structure of my copendingapplications, Serial No. 2,775, filed January 15, 1960, and Serial No.18,048,-filed March 28, 1960.

Various pretied bow tie structures have heretofore been proposed,however, all of such structures of which I am aware are subject to oneor more undesirable features which detract from their appearance whenworn. The pretied bow tie structures heretofore available have generallyfallen into two groups, those applied by grasping the wings of thecollar which results in disfiguring and marring the collar wings or,alternatively, those fixed on an elongated neckband which must beattached by hooks and eyes or snaps around the neck of the wearer. Inthe mechanical type of pretied bow ties which attaches to the collarwings, the tie generally follows the contour of the collar and has anappearance that is quite different from a hand tied bow tie. Such tiesare usually provided with springs and latches which break or relax sothat the tie is free to slide and become off-center or cocked on theneck of the wearer. Moreover, the ties of the wearer. Moreover, the tiesof the prior art were difficult to assemble and the tie portion couldnot be economically replaced or renewed.

The bow tie structure of my present invention is free from all of thesedifficulties of the prior known pretied bow ties, and has uniquefeatures not be found in any of the prior ties. The tie of my inventionwill not slip, slide, shift or fall off of the wearers collar and theattaching mechanism is completely concealed by the shirt collar and thetie. Moreover, the tie holder does not grasp or disfigure the collarwings. It has no springs or mechanical devices which can fail or break.It has no metal portions which can be deformed. The tie of my inventiongives the appearance of a hand tied bow tie but unlike a hand bow tiedoes not fray or wear from tying and is easily and quickly attached inplace. In addition, the tie of this invention is easily assembled andthe tie portion may be interchanged in the collar attaching element.

Preferably, I provide a necktie supporting element and a removablecollar engaging element and spacing member. The necktie supportingelement is preferably formed of a planar formable material having acenter portion with substantially parallel upper and lower horizontaldisposed edges, a pair of legs extending outwardly from the centerportion in the same plane, and provided on one edge with indexing means.Spacing members are attached to the center portion adjacent its ends andextend generally rearwardly. These spacing members are provided withindexing means. Gripping means on the collar attachment element andnecktie supporting element engage the cloth center wrap to hold it inposition and eliminate the need for stitching.

The collar engaging element is preferably made of planar, semi-resilientmaterial generally of the same shape as a center portion of the necktiesupporting element. A generally U-shaped element is fixed to thesupporting element intermediate the ends thereof on one side. Spacingmeans are provided at the opposite end of said collar engaging elementon the side thereof opposite the U-shaped member. Fastening means areprovided on said spacing member for fixing the collar engaging elementat the ends of the center portion of the necktie supporting element.Said U-shaped member is adapted 3,069,689 Patented Dec. 25, 1962 toengage the neckband of the shirt with the wing-like portions of thenecktie supporting element parallel to the neckband beneath the collarwings.

In the foregoing description, I have generally set out the structure ofmy invention together with certain objects, advantages and purposesthereof.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a considerationof the following description and the accompanying drawings showing apresent preferred embodiment of the invention wherein.

FIGURE 1 is a rear elevation of. a preferred form of tie supportingelement according to my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the element of FIG- URE l; r

FIGURE 3 is a section on the line IlIiII of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a rear elevation of the tie supporting element of FIGURES1-3;

FiGURE 5 is an exploded view of the elments making up the bow tie ofthis invention;

FIGURE 6 is a rear elevation of a modified form of tie support element;

FIGURE 7 is a rear elevation of a second modified form of tie support;

FIGURE 8 is a section through a tie assembled on the tie support ofFIGURE 7; and

FIGURE 9 is an exploded isometric view of a third modified form of myinvention.

Referring to the drawings, I have illustrated a tie structure, made upof a tie supporting element having a centrally generally rectangularportion 10 with a pair of tabs 11 and 12 fixed to the ends of therectangular portion 10. These tabs 11 and 12 extend generally sidewisefrom the rectangular portion 10 in the same plane as the rectangularportion and are provided with indexing serrations 13 on the lower edge.Spacing members 14 are provided at each end of the central portion 10with openings 15 therethrough. These spacing members are formed in theform of an arc of a circle increasing in thickness from the upper edge10a to the lower edge 10b of the central portion. Stitching openings 17may be provided in the central portion as may stitching openings 18 nearthe ends of tabs 11 and 12. The openings 17 may be used to stitch thecloth of the tie or wrapper at the center, While openings 18 may be usedto stitch the tie ends to give it a desired appearance. A collarengaging member 20 provided with diverging wings 21 on the end thereofis fixed to the center member 10 by means of pin-like engaging members22 passing through opening 15 on spacing members 14. The collar engagingmember 20 is thus attached to the tie holding member, removably orlocked depending on the form of the members 22 and openings 15. Agenerally U-shaped hook member 24 of semi-resilient material is fixed tothe collar engaging member 20 intermediate its ends. This hook member isadapted to slip over the collar band of the shirt of the wearer. The tieholding member 20 has a central portion 25 having two spaced groups ofteeth 26 on the upper edge thereof separated by a recess 27. A bow tieis formed by folding a suitable material 27 upon itself in the usualmanner as shown in FIGURE 5. The tie is assembled by sliding the ends oftabs 11 and 12 into slots 28 and 29 and forming the bow by wrappingthread 30 about the center of the tie 27 and over the rectangularportion 10. A center wrapping 31 of cloth is placed over thread 30 aboutthe tie and center member 10 and fastened by sewing ends 31a and 31btogether (see FIGURE 5) or by stitching to openings 17. The serrations13 are used to guide the person assembling the tie and identify thebottom even through the cloth of the tie. The collar engaging member 20is then placed in position by forcing pin-like engaging members 22through the openings 15 in members 14 with the cloth center wrappingtherebetween. Ihe teeth 26 engage the cloth wrapper 31 and prevent itsremoval or rotation. This eliminates the need for the firm stitchingheretofore necessary and reduces the cost and labor.

The tie is placed on the wearers neck simply by inserting the wingportions 21 under the collar and engaging the hook member 24 over theneckband of the shirt at the wearers throat. The curvature of the wingportions 21 is such that they follow generally the natural contour ofthe neck of the wearer and rest alongside the neckband of the shirtbeneath the wing of the collar whereby the holder and tie are preventedfrom slipping, shifting, twisting or otherwise becoming disarranged. Thehook portion 24 is attached to the collar engaging member at a pointintermediate its top and bottom edges such that it does not extend abovethe top edge of the engaging member and is therefore fully concealed bythe tie while being worn.

In the form of tie support shown in FIGURE 6, the tie is assembled inprecisely the same manner as described in FIGURE 1-5. The support ofFIGURE 6 has a generally rectangular portion 10a with tabs 11a and 12aof stepped configuration. Spacing members 14a with openings 15a areprovided to receive members 22 of a collar engaging member as in thecase of member 10 of FIG- URES 1-5.

In the form illustrated in FIGURES 7 and 8, the tie is assembled as inFIGURES l-S. In the case of FIG- URES 7 and 8, however, a pair of spacedhorizontal gripping members 40 are formed on the tie support element togrip the ends of center cloth wrapper 31 so as to eliminate stitchingthe ends of wrapper 31 together. Various other forms of gripping meansmight be substituted.

Referring to the modification illustrated in FIGURE 9, all of the partsare identical with like parts of FIGURES 1 through 5 and bear identicalnumbers with a prime sign. The only difierence between the two forms isthat in the embodiment of FIGURE 9 the tabs 11 and 12 are omitted fromthe rectangular member 1% of the tie supporting element to form a simplerectangular tie supporting element 100 which cooperates with the collarengaging member 200 in the same manner as elements 10 and of FIGURES1-5. By eliminating tabs 11 and 12, the step of slitting the fabric andinserting the tabs therein is eliminated and a tie having a drop can beformed. Moreover, ordinary hand tied ties can be applied to thesupporting elements and the ends cut oil.

While I have illustrated and described certain preferred forms of myinvention hereinabove, it will be understood that this invention may beotherwise practiced within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A necktie holder for bow ties comprising a necktie supporting elementand a collar engaging element, said necktie supporting elementcomprising a centrally generally rectangular member having upper andlower generally parallel horizontal edges, a pair of arms extending fromthe two edges other than the parallel horizontal edges of said centralmember generally in the same plane, said collar engaging elementcomprising a central generally rectangular portion having upper andlower generally parallel edges, a pair of oblique legs extendinggenerally upwardly and rearwardly from the ends of said rectangularcentral portion, hook means on the central portion extending rearwardlyin inverted U-shaped form, releasable engaging means between the centralmember of the necktie supporting element and the central portion of thecollar engaging element whereby said elements are separably connected,spacing means at the engaging means spacing said elements apart adistance suflicient to receive the cloth wrapper of a tie and grippingmeans between said central portion and said central member adapted toengage the cloth Wrapper of a tie whereby to hold said wrapper in fixedposition about the tie.

2. A necktie holder for how ties comprising a necktie supporting elementand a collar engaging element, said necktie supporting elementcomprising a central generally rectangular member having upper and lowergenerally parallel horizontal edges, a pair of arms extending from thetwo edges other than the parallel horizontal edges of said centralmember generally in the same plane, indexing means on said arms, saidcollar engaging element comprising a central generally rectangularportion having upper and lower generally parallel edges, a pair ofoblique legs extending generally upwardly and rearwardly from the endsof said rectangular central portion, hook means on the central portionextending rearwardly in inverted U-shaped form, releasable engagingmeans between the central member of the necktie supporting element andthe central portion of the collar engaging element whereby. saidelements are separably connected, spacing means at the engaging meanspacing said elements apart a distance sufiicient to receive a clothwrapper of a tie and gripping means between said central portion andsaid central member adapted to engage the cloth wrapper of a tie wherebyto hold said wrapper in fixed position about the tie.

3. A necktie holder as claimed in claim 2 wherein the indexing means onthe pair of arms is a serration on one edge of each arm.

4. A necktie holder for bow ties comprising a necktie supporting elementand a collar engaging element, said necktie supporting elementcomprising a central generally rectangular member having upper and lowergenerally parallel horizontal edges, a pair of arms extending from thetwo edges other than the parallel horizontal edges of said centralmember generally in the same plane, said collar engaging elementcomprising a central generally rectangular portion having upper andlower generally parallel edges, a pair of oblique legs extendinggenerally upwardly and rearwardly from the ends of said rectangularcentral portion, hook means on the central portion extending rearwardlyin inverted U-shaped form, snap engaging means between the centralmember of the necktie supporting element and the central portion of thecollar engaging element whereby said elements are separably connected,spacing means adjacent said fastening means spacing the central portionapart a greater distance at the bottom edges than at the top, andgripping means between said central portion and said central memberadapted to engage the cloth wrapper of a tie whereby to hold saidwrapper in fixed position about the tie.

5. A necktie holder for bow ties comprising a necktie supporting elementand a collar engaging element, said necktie supporting elementcomprising a central generally rectangular member having upper and lowergenerally parallel horizontal edges, said collar engaging elementcomprising a central generally rectangular portion having upper andlower generally parallel edges, a pair of oblique legs extendinggenerally upwardly and rearwardly from the ends of said rectangularcentral portion, hook means on the central portion extending rearwardlyin inverted U-shaped form, releasable engaging means between the centralmember of the necktie supporting element and the central portion of thecollar engaging element whereby said elements are separably connected,spacing means at the engaging means spacing said elements apart adistance sutficient to receive the cloth wrapper of a tie and grippingmeans between said central portion and said central member adapted toengage the cloth wrapper of a tie whereby to hold said wrapper in fixedposition about the tie.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS656,573 Shantz Aug. 21, 1900 771,038 Bernstein Sept. 27, 1904 1,050,227OLeary Jan. 14, 1913 2,458,265 Head Jan. 4, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No, 3 O69 689 December 25 1962Ralph J. Caparosa certified that error appears in the above numberedpat- It is hereby hat the said Letters Patent should read as entrequiring correction and t corrected below.

Column 1 lines 28 and 29, strike out "Moreover the ties of the wearergf;line 43 after "hand insert tied column 2 line 10,, for "whereino" readwherein line l9 for "elmentsf' read elements -3 column 3 line 22,, for"'FIGUREM first occurrence read FIGURES Signed and sealed this 18th dayof June 1963,

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST w. SWIDER DAVID LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

